Broadband Speed Test

Welcome to our page where you can test your broadband connections speed.
Our tester should work on the vast majority of web browsers and devices,
including computers, tablets, phones and games consoles. If you are
experiencing difficulties, please read our troubleshooting section below.

Test Information

This test is designed for users on broadband connections in the UK from free
Wi-Fi in a cafe through to Gigabit Fibre to the Home, for those abroad the test
will still work but take into account that international connectivity will affect
the result.

The test will usually complete in around 20 seconds but may take up to 1 minute.
Results are logged for statistical purposes and are an indication
of your connection speed only. If you are trying to troubleshoot your broadband
connection we recommend connecting your computer using an Ethernet cable directly
to your broadband router. We publish monthly speed test summaries and you can view
the analysed results on our broadband checker.

If the test does not complete and reports an error persistently or does not load the
test results, please see our FAQ for advice.

Alternate Speed Tests

The test by default is performed over SSL. If you want to test standard HTTP performance we suggest using our standalone HTTP test.

Our old version is still available if you want to run out Flash based tester, but this no longer links to your profile.

Troubleshooting

The speedtester makes extensive use of the HTTP protocol over TCP port 80 and
TCP port 443 (SSL).

Please see our FAQ for advice on
frequent problems like the results page not loading.

If you see particularly slow speeds, and are using wireless we recommend
connecting to your broadband router using an Ethernet cable. With tablets
and mobile phones moving to be in the same room as the Wi-Fi router will
often help.

If your burst speed figures are very high, particularly at the start of the
test this is usually an indication that your anti-virus software may be
delaying traffic initially, and then clearing its buffers once it decides that
the speed test is safe.

The buffer bloat report is designed to help those who do lots of things at
once with their broadband connection, i.e. a grade A buffer bloat figure means
that uploading video to YouTube should not adversely impact your ability to
download at the same time. For those keen to improve their buffer bloat
performance, consider looking at implementing Quality of Service controls on
your broadband router.

What Do The Results Mean

Broadband Download Speed

Typical Use

0.5 Mbps (Mega bits per second)

If speeds are constitent should be sufficient for audio streaming, email and very basic web browsing.

1 Meg (Mbps)

Basic video streaming should work and standard web pages.

2 Meg (Mbps)

Standard definition (SD) video from BBC iPlayer should be possible.

5 Meg (Mbps)

Should allow High Definition (HD - 1080p) video streaming to run smoothly.

8 Meg (Mbps)

Should be able to support video streaming and other activities at the same time without buffering.

15 Meg (Mbps)

Connection will support a few video streams and other activity at the same time.

25 Meg (Mbps)

Should be able to to stream pre-recorded Ultra HD video (UHD - 4k) smoothly.

40 Meg (Mbps)

Should be able to to stream live Ultra HD video (UHD - 4k) smoothly.

Broadband Upload Speed

Typical Use

0.1 Mbps (Mega bits per second)

Enough to send simple text emails.

0.4 Meg (Mbps)

Online gaming should be possible, remember gaming is very latency sensitive.

0.8 Meg (Mbps)

Webcam video streams over Skype etc should be reasonable quality

2 Meg (Mbps)

HD Webcam streaming may be possible.

10 Meg (Mbps)

Uploading 200MB of holiday video to the cloud will take around 4 to 5 minutes

NOTE: Variable speed products and those sold as 'up to' a
specific speed may not reach the maximum advertised download or upload speeds.
The rules around selling broadband in the UK mean that 10% of customers should
be able to reach the 'up to' speeds quoted in adverts. For individuals not
reaching the advertised speed this will often be due to the length of your
phone line, ISP network congestion or traffic shaping, wireless networks or
shared users/programs on your connection. Any results generated are not a
guarantee of your true connection speed or your ability to perform a specific
online task.